It’s really too bad we didn’t have more time, because I’d love to have spent some time in El Paso and Juarez. As it was, we had breakfast at a great (and dirt cheap) Mexican place and then drove through downtown, heading out on the very well-fortified Border Highway. It’s amazing how much money and effort we spend keeping trying to keep Mexico from crossing the border. By the way, why is it IMPOSSIBLE to buy a map of Juarez in El Paso?
The drive was from hell, one of the worst of the trip. West Texas is one of the most godforsaken stretches of nothingness I’ve ever experienced. We went almost 600 miles without passing through a single town of more than 10,000 people…
When we hit Fredericksburg, we were excited. It was the closest thing we’d seen to civilization in hours: a cute little German-themed town in the middle of Texas. It also signified that we were finally close to Austin, although there seems to be some sort of ordinance against mentioning the state capitol on any directional signs along US 290. We were ready to be somewhere. Anywhere…
And then, about three miles out of town, we heard the rattle. It got more “rattly”. The oil light came on. The engine went off. And suddenly, we were stranded with a dead car beside a field just outside Fredericksburg TX at midnight…
We called AAA. They promised a tow truck within an hour, which gave us plenty of time to get really pessimistic and start wondering what would happen next. We wondered what was wrong and how much it might cost to fix. We wondered how difficult it would be to ditch the car there and rent one to drive the rest of the way home. Either way, we knew the fun part of the trip was pretty much over. But we kept it together fairly well until Boomhauer showed up to tow us to a garage, and even took us and all the stuff in our trunk to a nearby motel…
Sleep was not forthcoming…
